The INSANE Prime of Don Mattingly

Donnie baseball may not be a Hall of Famer but he  certainly had a prime that should be remembered   Don Mattingly played 14 years in Major League  Baseball all with the New York Yankees he batted   a career 307 hitting 222 homers in tallying 2  153 hits not too shabby to pair up with those   incredible stats he had the awards to back it  up an MVP winner six-time All-Star nine-time   Gold Glove winner and a batting title winner not  to mention a mustache that's up there with Wade   Boggs for the best of all time if we're ranking  the best defensive first baseman of all time   Don Mattingly has to be in the top three Keith  Hernandez with 11 Gold Gloves definitely holds   the crown for number one defensive first baseman  the 1980s were not kind to the New York Yankees   they made Just One World Series appearance which  came in 1981 and they would fall to the LA Dodgers   in that matchup the Yankees wouldn't appear in  another world series until 1996. Don Mattingly   was not a part of either of these teams as he  would not make his major league debut until the   next year following the 1981 World Series loss  and would retire from baseball the year before   their World Series appearance in 1996 I bring  this up to illustrate the unfortunate timing   of Mattingly's arrival and departure in New York  Mattingly is one of if not the best Yankee player   ever to not have played in a World Series while  Mattingly may not have had a chance to win a   World Series ring he was able to put together  a historically great Prime that Rivals first   baseman that are currently in Cooperstown before  we get into his prime let's first introduce Donny   baseball as always if you enjoy the video make  sure to leave a like and consider subscribing   Don Mattingly was born on April 20th 1961  in Evansville Indiana he was the youngest   of five children born to Bill and Mary Mattingly  tragically Don's older brother Jerry was killed   in a construction accident at 23 years old Don's  father was a mailman and had a work ethic that   definitely impacted Don Mattingly growing up Don's  first taste of baseball came from backyard Wiffle   Ball games according to their rules growing up  if you pulled the ball to the first base side   you had to avoid the tree or else you would  be out to left field however was the family's   garage a Fly ball onto the garage counted as a  home run quickly Don learned how to hit the ball   the other way the Mattingly family encouraged  their children to work hard and succeed in   whatever they did in life they were supportive  and didn't criticize a lot according to Don   dymatically throughout his time at Wright's  Memorial High School play three Sports all in   an exceptional level he was the football team's  starting quarterback the basketball team star   point guard and of course an even better baseball  player in 1976 Don manly faced off against the   Cincinnati Reds top draft pick that year Mattingly  hit two doubles against him and created a name for   himself Scouts were sometimes at his games and Don  would eventually start receiving letters offering   college scholarships his High School baseball  coach Quentin Merkel was always providing words   of encouragement and motivation to continue  working hard Mattingly remembers his coach   being the biggest influence along with his father  in building his work ethic coach would say to me   if you're the best player in the region you should  try to become the best in the state if you're the   best in the state then you should start thinking  about being the best in the country that ethic to   always get better helped me in the minor leagues  when I was fighting for jobs 1979 saw Mattingly   become a big time Prospect and was even featured  in a write-up for Sports Illustrated even with his   high tier Prospect status most teams did not draft  him with the expectation that Don would attend   college however the Yankees figured they'd roll  the dice and selected him in the 19th round of   the 1979 amateur draft and would decide to sign a  minor league deal with New York Mattingly climbed   through the miners rather quickly hitting 349 in  53 games during his rookie professional season   he moved up to class A South Atlantic league and  proceeded to lead the league with a 358 batting   average the following year now in double a ball  he would continue to rake hitting 315 with 98 RBIs   1982 would see Mattingly join AAA Columbus and he  had a great season there as well batting 315 again   with 10 homers and 75 RBIs he would start earning  recognition for his Elite defensive abilities at   first base in September Mattingly was given a late  season call-up for his first cup of coffee in the   big leagues he got just 12 at bats picking up his  first big league hit and first big league RBI Don   Mattingly made the opening day roster in 1983 but  was sent down after getting little to no playing   time throughout the first two weeks of the Season  he was sent down to Columbus on April 14th this   would become his last trip to the minor leagues  after knocking the cover off the ball in 43 games   for Columbus Mattingly was called up after Bobby  Mercer retired on June 12th opening a roster spot   Mattingly would not instantly become an everyday  regular spending the duration of 1983 as a pinch   hitter spot starter and defensive replacement at  both the corner Outfield positions and first base   after a fiasco in July of 1983 that resulted in  the game getting resumed nearly a month later Don   Mattingly was put into the game as the second  baseman wow he only played there for one hour   became the last Lefty to play second base in major  league history early on in the 1984 preseason then   manager Yogi Berra told Mattingly that he would be  a reserve player to start the season as Steve Kemp   Dave Winfield and Roy Smalley were slotted into  play left right field and first base Mattingly was   happy to make the team but considering that he was  batting 474 at the time throughout the preceding   games made it difficult to accept his role as  a reserve player but is Mattingly told New York   Times in an interview I feel I can change  their mind or at least make it a very tough   decision to sit me down his positive outlook  and determination to win a spot would pay off   after continuing to hit well and making slick  defensive plays at first base Bara came around   and decided to slot manly in as the team's  everyday first baseman Barrow would quickly   realize that he made the correct decision the  start of Don Mattingly's insane Prime Starts Now   Mattingly started off 1984 as an offensive force  to be reckoned with his power numbers went through   the roof thanks to the help of lupinea who worked  with Mattingly to increase his power by tweaking   his mechanics in July of 1984 Manley made his  first All-Star game as a reserve he got in at bat   in the ninth inning and flied out against Goose  Gossage Don Mattingly and teammate Dave Winfield   got into an incredibly close race for the American  League batting crowd on September 1st Mattingly   led the race by just one point hitting 352 to  Winfield's 351 the competition for the batting   title was without a doubt the best ongoing story  in New York City the last two weeks of the Season   featured both players current batting average on  the scoreboard to the ninth digit the excitement   was mainly due to the fact that a Yankee hadn't  won the batting Crown since Mickey Mantle in 1956   but this year was special with the chance at two  Yankees finishing one and two and hitting which   had never been done before entering the final  weekend manually LED Winfield 342-341 manually   on Friday and Saturday however would go just one  for seven falling behind Winfield by three points   batting 339 the last game of the year would be a  barn burner as Mattingly amazingly got four hits   and five at bats while Winfield went just one for  four after manly got his fourth and final hit of   the 1984 season Winfield hit a hard ground ball  to the shortstop who would throw to second base   to force out Mattingly as he walked back toward  the Dugout the fans went absolutely nuts he was   officially crowned as the 1984 batting champion  after a few moments Mattingly would re-emerge   from The Dugout and would walk to first base and  shake hands with Dave Winfield they would walk off   the field together in a stadium that was still  erupting with cheers after this crazy sequence   of events Mattingly had this to say it was good  that we could come off together Dave has been a   great person through this whole thing he handled  himself like a gentleman I have great respect for   him it's good that we're going to be teammates the  next few years at least for 1984 manually led the   league with 207 hits 44 doubles and of course his  343 batting average he hit 23 homers drove in 110   and posted a 156 Ops plus which is better than  the Ops plus the Freddie Freeman tally for 2022   the reason I bring him up is because he was the  top finishing first baseman in MVP voting and that   in some ways they have similarities they both are  all around great hitters and have great defensive   abilities although Mattingly definitely has the  edge in that department Mattingly also finished   in the top five for rbi's total basis slugging  percentage and extra base hits he would finish   fifth in MVP voting although in looking at those  who finished above him there's definitely a case   to be made that he should have finished a spot or  two higher than he did in the offseason following   the 1984 season the Yankees traded with the  Oakland A's to get Ricky Henderson this would   not only bring the team a player with insane speed  and on base skills it would bring Don Mattingly   and Company a lot more RBI opportunities with  runners in scoring position in 1985 Mattingly   got even better while his Ops plus remained  at 156 he increased his power numbers his   35 homers and 145 RBIs would both be career highs  he led the league in doubles RBIs and total bases   with 370. going back to the RBI opportunities  with Runners on base Mattingly would prove this   point with not only the runs driven in but also  accumulating 15 sacrifice flies for the season   which led the league Mattingly throughout his  career was not the type to strike out a lot and he   continued to show off his great selective eye at  the plate walking 56 times to just 41 strikeouts   for his career Mattingly walked 144 more times  than he struck out the Yankees won 97 games this   season and despite manly's efforts finished two  games below the Blue Jays cutting their Seasons   short for his incredible season Mattingly won the  MVP award which for the sake of this video will   ignore the fact that George Brett Wade Boggs and  teammate Ricky Henderson arguably deserve the MVP   more ironically after this season Mattingly would  draw comparisons to Wade Boggs and George Brett   via Lou panea Stan Musial even said that Mattingly  quote reminds me of myself in in addition to the   MVP Hardware he received Mattingly also won his  first career goal glove award and Silver Slugger   The Following season was Mattingly's quote-unquote  career year that's how great his prime was it's   hard to even pinpoint what year was his true best  year but if I had to put money on it I got my   money on 1986. while the Yankees once again were  unable to bring Mattingly some posties in action   Don continued to show why he was a perennial  MVP candidate before we talk numbers let's talk   about dymatically playing on the other side of the  diamond in need of a fill-in following an injury   the Yankees needed a volunteer to be an emergency  fill-in at third base Mattingly volunteered and   manager lupinea gave him the thumbs up he became  the first left-handed throwing third baseman to   play in the majors since we Willie Keeler in the  early 1900s the bottom of the first saw manly get   his first play at third while he fielded the  ground ball cleanly he unfortunately made a   wide throat that allowed hitter John Moses to  reach first base luckily Mattingly was able   to immediately redeem himself on the next play  when he stopped a sharp ground ball and started   a 543 double play for his career Mattingly played  just three games of Third Base had one put out 11   assists just the one error and was a part of two  double plays for the 1986 season as a whole he   hit 31 dingers drove in 113 led the league with  a career-high 238 hits 53 doubles a 573 slogging   967 Ops and 161 Ops plus he once again led the  league in total bases with 388 manningly's 200   38 hits are tied for 18th on the single season  hits leaderboard he would also win both the gold   glove and Silver Slugger again 1987 saw Mattingly  start in a slump hitting just 240 with three home   runs through his first 33 games then he started  to figure things out raising his average to 311 by   the beginning of June just when he was getting in  mid-season form Mattingly injured his lower back   something that was always a factor throughout his  life he was born with a birth defect certain discs   in his back were just more prone to cause and pain  luckily the injury this time around didn't take   away too much of his season when he returned  from injury he would go on in absolute Terror   batting 370 in his first 54 at bats 1987 also saw  Mattingly hit his first grand slam of his career   and had a chance to break the American League Mark  for consecutive games with the home run seven was   the mark to beat and Mattingly had gotten himself  to six consecutive games according to Mattingly   he wasn't trying to hit home runs he just found a  swing that got the ball in the air he would have   his chance at history in Texas he would tie the  AL Mark at Arlington Stadium in the sixth inning   bringing his streak to seven games straight with  the Dinger now with that home run he wasn't just   going for American League history he was going  for major league history as the record was eight   straight games with the Homer set by dale Long  of the Pirates in 1956. the next game would be   a defining moment of Don Mattingly's career more  specifically his insane Prime in the fourth inning   Mattingly hit his Sinker over the wall in left  center field that would break the AL record tying   the Major League record the sold out crowd wanted  a curtain call from Mattingly and eventually they   got one unfortunately Mattingly wasn't able to  surpass eight games but nonetheless the streak   was incredibly impressive especially considering  that during the streak he wasn't just hitting home   runs in the eight-game stretch he hit 10 homers  two of which were Grand Slams he tallied 17 hits   and drove in 21 runs he had a 459 batting average  in this span striking out just twice is 1.324   slugging percentage almost doesn't even seem real  remember earlier how I said manningly hadn't hit   a grand slam before 1987. well I think old Donny  baseball started to get a hankering for the four   RBI Homer and picked up his sixth of the season  on September 29th etching his name into baseball   history that's right Don Mattingly holds the  record for the most grain slams in a single season   in the history of baseball Mattingly would once  again win the gold glove and Silver Slugger making   it three consecutive Seasons to win both Awards  over the ensuing two seasons Mattingly would still   play at an All-Star level and won the gold glove  award in both 1988 and 1989. fireballer Dwight   Gooden of the Mets once said I'm glad I don't have  to face that guy every day Mattingly has that look   a few hitters have I don't know if it's his stance  his eyes are what you can tell he means business   many managers and players figured that Mattingly  was a lock for Cooperstown Don Mattingly being   the humble guy that he is described his approach  to hitting as more of a mental struggle than a   physical accomplishment as you may already know  that wouldn't come to fruition at least not yet   Mattingly would sign a five-year contract on April  10th in 1990 paying him 19.3 million dollars an   average of 3.86 million per season this deal was  the largest in terms of aav otherwise known as   average annual value unfortunately Mattingly would  not live up to this contract the back injury we   talked about before flared up again and this time  it would be a recurring issue that he would battle   throughout the remainder of his career in 1991  Mattingly was named the captain of the Yankees   and he took the role very seriously while he won  the gold glove this year his offensive numbers   suffered as a result of the back injury that  continued to hinder his performance on the field   then things started to unravel for Mattingly's  relationship with the Yankees from the team   not performing is expected to the feuding between  Mattingly and Yankees owner George steinbrenner's   management Mattingly requested a trade in the  summer of 1991 following the team's downward   trajectory the biggest issue arose once general  manager Jean Michael told Mattingly he needed to   get a haircut his long hair and mustache were  not not in compliance with the haircut rule in   his contract he was benched for a game as a result  and eventually got the haircut but Mattingly was   starting to see the situation as more than just  a haircut he felt that he was Expendable and felt   that a change of scenery was nine 1992 saw Don  manly come back with a new refreshed attitude   while he wasn't the same player he was he had  a productive season his first in a few years   he would win his seventh career goal glove this  season entering magnley's 11th full season in   the major leagues at almost 33 years old he still  did not have a taste of postseason baseball the   urgency set in and unfortunately for Mattingly  that hoped to partake in October baseball would   not come to fruition in 1994. the Players  Association went on strike and the owners   were not able to reach a deal with the players and  ultimately the rest of the season was canceled Don   manly wasn't sure if he would come back for The  Following Season the strike was settled on April   3rd of 1995 and Mattingly decided to return he  decided to focus on the positives and felt that if   it wasn't this year they try again next year the  Yankees played that season with some extra fire in   hopes of getting manningly to his first postseason  book show altar went on to say there is a silent   torch that we have all carried for Dani Donny  baseball and the Yankees were able to Prevail   throughout the 1995 season battling and fighting  to go to the postseason for the first time in 14   years they succeeded in their Quest Donny baseball  could finally experience some October baseball in   Mattingly's first postseason game he went two for  four with a double and an RBI to lead the Yankees   to a 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners game  two was a crazy game and Mattingly would step up   to the plate in a huge moment and drilled a home  run to give the Yankees the lead the chaos that   was caused from fans throwing caps helmets cups  of beer Frisbees and even a grapefruit lupinea   who is now the manager of the Mariners pulled his  team off the field until the madness died down the   crowd continued to chant Dani baseball until the  captain of the Yankees emerged from The Dugout and   tipped his cap to the 56 000 fans in attendance  the Home Run lifted the Yankees to a two-nothing   series lead despite the early lead the Yankees  would drop the next two games to send the series   to game five with the score tied at two Mattingly  stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning with   the bases loaded and only one out he hit a frozen  rope that skipped the wall for a ground rule   double to put the Yankees ahead 4-2 that score  would remain until Ken Griffey Jr hit a solo   home run in the bottom of the eighth to bring the  score within one the Mariners eventually tied the   game and would send this one to extras the Yankees  would regain the lead in the 11th but back-to-back   singles Allowed by Jack McDowell brought to pass  the biggest moment in the entire game none other   than Edgar Martinez stepped in and it didn't take  long for him to drive a ball into the left field   Corner not only tying the game but winning  the game as Griffey avoided the tag at home   to send the Mariners on and leave Don Mattingly  and the Yankees in the dust while he hit 417 in   the series with four doubles a home run and six  RBIs Don Manley's first taste of October was over   Ernie Banks had some words of encouragement  for Mattingly as he too had never made the   postseason the character of Don manually is  just unbelievable Don magnley announced that   he would sit out in 1996 it did not officially  retire he suggested that he would potentially   like to play another year with the team that  was closer to his home in Indiana his children   were growing up his body was ailing and the  Yankees had acquired a Star first baseman   in Tino Martinez one year after announcing  his one-year break from baseball Mattingly   officially retired and held a press conference at  Yankee Stadium in August during the 1997 season   diamondly day was held at Yankee Stadium  the Yankees would retire Mattingly's jersey   number 23 and dedicated a plaque in Monument Park  that called Mattingly a humble man of Grace and   dignity a captain who led by example proud of the  Pinstripe tradition and dedicated to the pursuit   of Excellence a Yankee forever Mattingly was  extremely appreciative of the support from fans   over the years during his speech at the ceremony  since playing Major League Baseball as a player   Mattingly has since been a coach and manager for  several teams he managed the Dodgers from 2011 to   2015 and then went on to manage the Marlins from  2016 through last season this year Mattingly is a   bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays and while he  doesn't say it I would imagine he's still holding   out hope for a Cooperstown knot he definitely  has a strong case based off of his prime which   is a major factor that affects whether or not a  player gets inducted into Cooperstown or not Don   Mattingly's story is one that truly impressed  me I didn't grow up watching Mattingly but now   I have such a newfound respect for his leadership  and humble nature that led him to become beloved   by his fellow peers coaches and Baseball fans  in general while he got just one chance to   play in October baseball Mattingly proved that he  could handle the pressure of postseason baseball   and came through in some of the team's biggest  moments Donny baseball threw his actions on and   off the field built himself a legacy that should  always be remembered let me know in the comments   down below your thoughts on today's video If you  enjoyed make sure to leave a like and consider   subscribing thank you all for watching and I'll  see you guys in the next video later [Music]

Channel: Cam 23

Views: 125,658

Keywords: Don Mattingly, don mattingly, Donnie Baseball, New York Yankees, MLB, mlb, batting title, Mattingly third base, Mattingly home run, Mattingly postseason, 1995, MVP, Don Mattingly MVP, Don Mattingly highlights, gold glove, silver slugger, Don Mattingly record, Don Mattingly grand slam, most grand slams in single season, Yankees, baseball, batting title 1984, Dodgers, Marlins, Blue Jays, manager, hair cut, most consecutive games with a home run baseball, Hall of Fame, Cam 23, captain

Id: P4Du4u7nglQ

Length: 20min 34sec (1234 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 14 2023